FENCERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Fencers of all time. This list of famous Chinese Fencers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Fencers.

1. Zhong Man (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 31.61, Zhong Man is the most famous Chinese Fencer.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Zhong Man (simplified Chinese: 仲满; traditional Chinese: 仲滿; pinyin: Zhòng Mǎn, born February 28, 1983, in Nantong, Jiangsu) is a Chinese sabre fencer, who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the second ever gold medal for China in fencing. During the 07/08 season, he was ranked number 2 in the world.

2. Lei Sheng (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 31.19, Lei Sheng is the 2nd most famous Chinese Fencer.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Lei Sheng (Chinese: 雷声; pinyin: Léi Shēng; born 7 March 1984) is a Chinese left-handed foil fencer, six-time team Asian champion, 2012 individual Asian champion, two-time team world champion, three-time Olympian, and 2012 individual Olympic champion.

3. Sun Yiwen (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 29.70, Sun Yiwen is the 3rd most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Sun Yiwen (simplified Chinese: 孙一文; traditional Chinese: 孫一文; pinyin: Sūn Yīwén, born 17 June 1992) is a Chinese left-handed épée fencer. Sun is a three-time team Asian champion and two-time team world champion. A two-time Olympian, Sun is a 2016 team Olympic silver medalist, 2016 individual Olympic bronze medalist, and 2021 individual Olympic champion. In Tokyo, Sun became the first Chinese fencer in history to win an Olympic gold medal in individual women's épée, and only the second Chinese woman to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual fencing event, after Luan Jujie, who won a gold medal in individual women's foil at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. During the press conference after her gold medal match, Sun revealed that some time before her departure for Tokyo, she was informed that her father had been diagnosed with cancer and was fighting for his life at a hospital in Beijing.

4. Li Na (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 28.93, Li Na is the 4th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Li Na (Chinese: 李娜; pinyin: Lǐ Nà; born 9 March 1981 in Dandong, Liaoning) is a Chinese épée fencer. She won a bronze medal in the women's team épée event at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and won gold in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Li won the gold medal in the épée team event at the 2006 World Fencing Championships, after beating France in the final. She accomplished this with her teammates Luo Xiaojuan, Zhang Li and Zhong Weiping. Li also reached fourth place in the individual épée event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, losing the play-off for third place 15–11 to Ildikó Mincza-Nébald of Hungary. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Li won gold in the women's team épée event with Xu Anqi, Luo Xiaojuan and Sun Yujie.

5. Tan Xue (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 27.41, Tan Xue is the 5th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Tan Xue (simplified Chinese: 谭雪; traditional Chinese: 譚雪; pinyin: Tán Xuě; born January 30, 1984, in Tianjin) is a female Chinese fencer who won silver medals in the Sabre Individual at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in the Team Sabre at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She became world champion in 2002, defeating the former double world champion Yelena Jemayeva in the final, and won silver medals in both Individual and Team Sabre at the 2003 World Championship. She won the Fencing World Cup in the 2001–02 and the 2006–07 seasons. She married fencer Wang Jingzhi in 2009.

6. Sun Yujie (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 26.83, Sun Yujie is the 6th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Sun Yujie (Chinese: 孙玉洁; pinyin: Sūn Yùjié; born 10 August 1992) is a Chinese fencer. At 2012 Summer Olympics she won gold medal in team épée with Li Na, Luo Xiaojuan and Xu Anqi and a bronze in Women's individual épée. She won the 2010–11 and 2011–12 World Cups.

7. Xu Anqi (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 26.77, Xu Anqi is the 7th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Xu Anqi (Chinese: 许安琪; pinyin: Xǔ Ānqí; born 23 January 1992) is a Chinese right-handed épée fencer. Xu is a two-time individual Asian champion, four-time team Asian champion, and two-time team world champion. A three-time Olympian, Xu is a 2016 team Olympic silver medalist and 2012 team Olympic champion. Xu competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

8. Ma Jianfei (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 25.93, Ma Jianfei is the 8th most famous Chinese Fencer.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ma Jianfei (Chinese: 马剑飞, born 29 July 1984) is a Chinese fencer, silver medallist in the 2014 World Fencing Championships at Kazan and team silver medallist in the 2011 World Fencing Championships at Catania. He won the 2013–14 Fencing World Cup. He went to Ludixi Primary School (荻西小学), in Liwan District of Guangzhou. He also took part in the school sports meeting in December 11, 2016.

9. Chen Qingyuan (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 0.00, Chen Qingyuan is the 9th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Chen Qingyuan (simplified Chinese: 陈情缘; traditional Chinese: 陳情緣; pinyin: Chén Qíngyuán; born 15 February 1997) is a Chinese right-handed foil fencer. She won the silver medal in both the women's individual and team foil events at the 2022 Asian Fencing Championships held in Seoul, South Korea. In 2018, she won the silver medal in the women's team foil event at the Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's foil event at the 2019 Asian Fencing Championships held in Chiba, Japan. She also won the bronze medal in the women's team foil event. She also competed at the World Fencing Championships in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. On the 11th of January 2024 she won the World Cup in Paris in individuals.

10. Lin Sheng (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 0.00, Lin Sheng is the 10th most famous Chinese Fencer.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Lin Sheng (林声; born 5 January 1994) is a Chinese fencer. Lin is from Fuzhou, Fujian. She won a gold medal in the girls' épée event at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. She was part of the Chinese girls' team which won gold in the team épée event at the 2011 Junior World Fencing Championships. At the 2015 International Fencing Federation Épée Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro, she placed 40th. She won gold in the team épée event at the 2014 Asian Fencing Championships, along with teammates Qin Xue, Sun Yiwen, and Sun Yujie. She withdrew from the competition to represent China in fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics due to health issues, but recovered later that year, and won gold in the women's individual épée event at the 2016 Chinese Fencing Championships.